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'He laughed?' That was bad news. 'I thought you said he never smiled?'
'I know.' Penny bit her lip. 'I don't think he has been put off me.'
'Oh dear. Well, do not despair. Mr Lucas, his valet, and I are trying to think of things, but it is very hard without inventing something so frightful about you that no one would believe it, or that would ruin you utterly if it was true.'
'It is very good of you to associate with him just to help me,' Penny said, standing meekly while Rowan unbuttoned her morning dress and lifted it over her head.
Rowan paused, dress in
hand, and regarded her friend through narrowed eyes. 'Penelope Maylin, are you teasing me?'
'A bit,' Penny admitted with the ghost of a smile. 'Mr Lucas is very good-looking.'
'Well, that makes two of you who think so,' Rowan said tartly. 'And for goodness' sake, Penny-as if I'd flirt with a valet!'
'I expect you would for my sake,' Penny said loyally.
'He has been in the West Indies as some kind of estates manager.' Rowan took out all three afternoon dresses and scrutinised them. 'I don't think he is really a valet at all.'
'What about the amber one?' Penny asked. 'I can wear it with the kid slippers and the paisley shawl Stepmama lent me.' They lifted it over her head and she emerged, shaking out her hair. 'Perhaps Lucas is a Bow Street Runner, employed to discover the real murderer?'
'At a house party?' Rowan asked sceptically, wondering distractedly if it was better or worse to be attracted to a Runner rather than a valet.
Penny looked downcast at this reception of her theory, and they brooded silently while Rowan found the slippers and Penny sat at the dressing table and began to brush her hair. 'Do you think it looks better down?' she asked after a few minutes, twisting ringlets round her fingers.
Rowan studied the reflection in the mirror. 'It does, actually. In fact it suits you very well. But we cannot do it that way-the last thing you want is for him to find you attractive.'
'No, I suppose not.'
Rowan took over the brush and concentrated on piling Penny's hair up into her usual arrangement.
'I might wear it like that at the ball, though. How will you dress your hair?'
'I'm not going to any ball, silly.'
'There's the Servants' Ball. Miranda Fortescue says they always have one at Tollesbury Court. Lord Fortescue lights the great Yule log in the hall on Christmas morning, then the family all go over to Lady Fortescue's family at Deddington Manor a few miles away, to spend the whole of Christmas Day, and the servants have a proper ball in the evening. Lord Fortescue even hires in waiters, so the footmen and butler can join in. And then on the twenty-sixth the Fortescues have a St Stephen's Day Ball here and invite all the neighbouring families.'
'Well, I haven't got a thing with me, and you haven't got a second-best ball gown I can borrow.' Just for a second Rowan had seen an image of herself dancing with Lucas, the expression on his face when he saw her in all her finery…
'But your things are just down at the inn in the village, aren't they?' Penny demanded. 'Along with Alice and Kate.'
'Of course!' Rowan pushed in the last hair pin. 'How on earth could I have forgotten? And there I was fretting about how to get that red wine stain out of the cuff of your white organza while all the time we have our own highly accomplished dressers just down the road. It is very remiss of me. I do hope they are comfortable there.'
'Well, it seemed a good inn when we dropped them off with your luggage,' Penny said, slipping a plain gold bangle over her hand. 'And Dorritt and the carriage have gone back there-he would be sure to come and
let us know if it was not respectable. It would be good if they can do something about that stain.'
'I'll walk down tomorrow, taking a basket, and see what they can do with it. If I take a big basket I can bring something back to wear at the Servants' Ball.'
'A very big basket,' Penny observed, pinching her cheeks to get some colour up. 'There's the gown and your petticoats, and silk stockings and slippers, and a shawl and some hair ornaments and jewellery…'
'Nothing too fancy-and not jewellery,' Rowan said. 'This is the Servants' Ball, don't forget.'
'You will look lovely, and your Bow Street Runner will lose his heart to you.'
'Don't joke about it,' Rowan said, with more force than she'd intended. Penny blinked in surprise at her tone. 'Sorry. But really it is too ridiculous. Now, remember this afternoon to be as insipid as you possibly can. If we cannot think of anything to shock him at least let's try and bore him into thinking again.'
'What the hell have you done to that hat?'
